Packing question - yup i have read past post still have a ?

After reading like 15 pages of post including the wish i would have thought of that post I still have a question . Everyone is saying to pack your suitcase and then unpack half of it. This doesn't make sense to me if we have to wear clothes for dinner each night, wouldn't we need at least one outfit per night? I know the ladies can probally wear the same sun dress more then one night, but us guys tend to sweat a bit. Can someone help this first timer out with some advice? Thank you so much ..... T-minus 6 days CSA Honeymoon.

I pack 2 or 3 golf shirts for dinner and 1 dress shirt. Why so few? The only time I wear them are for dinner. The rest of the time it's T-Shirts or nothing. The same goes for pants/shorts. A couple pair of shorts should be fine and 1 pair of slacks.

Not everyone says "pack your suitcase and then unpack half of it". I don't agree. It sounds like you have been doing your homework and have a good idea of what you'll need. Make a list and then pack once. We take a lot of stuff for our two week stays. We take a large checked bag and a carry on, each. I don't like to wear the same thing every day and unlike some people, we are not in our swimsuits all day long. Only you can decide what you want to take. You may overpack and you may underpack. Give it your best shot and then refine your list after your first trip for your second.

See you in a few days. we arrive on the 16th. This is our first trip and what we settled on was 4 dinner outfits, figuring that we either won't go to a sit down place every night or that he can re-wear something if needed. We figure if we want to go dancing after dinner we'll go back and change.

My husband is packing three dress shirts and 2 pants. That's always the norm for him when we travel to a resort or any place that has upscale dining. I am packing three light weight dresses. Hope this helps, but I'm sure
you will get other suggestions too. Have a great time!

I hear what your saying. After I read the dress code threads I decided o bring more clothes than I had originally planned. I love to travel VERY light. Now I'm bringing at least one more pair of shoes and pants.

I end up wearing my shirts, twice during a 9 night stay. I have 3 nice Hawaiian style print shirts that match swim trunks. I will wear one of them for dinner, then only on the beach afterwards so that is my first 3 nights of shirts. Then I take 3 others and rotate them. I will also have 2 golf shirts, just in case I get sloppy and spill something plus to wear one back home in. I sweat, but it does not seem to be an issue at night for me, and I am really only in them for a few hours. But like I have said, you know it is your vacation and you are the one who should be happy with what you have taken. After your first trip, then you can decide what you need for the next one. I take less then half the clothes now, that I did for our first trip and it was only 6 nights.

Oct will be our third trip 'home'...we plan to pack lighter than we did in '10. We may eat at Feathers but other than that we'll probably just do the more casual restaurants for dinner. My hubby will probably bring a linen outfit for feathers and nice shorts (2) and button down shirts (3) for the other restaurants. I'll prob bring three maxi dress, capris (1) and two shirts. We usually stay in beach clothes most of the day.

I know the ladies can probally wear the same sun dress more then one night.

Not this lady, haha!

It's just a preference. When we went to Jamaica for our honeymoon, we brought something for each day. I'm not sure why you would want to re-wear clothes just for the sake of "packing light". Others seem to enjoy that. The way I see it, summer clothes are light in general, so don't take up much room in your bag.

I am a guy who likes to feel clean at dinner and into the evening. For a week at CSA I do pack 5 bathing suits (they do take longer to dry after rinsing them out), and most of my tshirts are the quick dry material that are lighter to pack and cooler to wear. For evenings I take 3 or 4 pairs of slacks, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 golf shirts, and about 5 tropical shirts. Other than to the beach party I do wear slacks to dinner at any of the restaurants. It is after all still a five star resort after the sun goes down and the bathing suits come off. My wife likes to bring a sundress for each night.

Yes...you do sweat, so do what will make you the most comfortable. Most international flights do not charge for the first 2 checked bags anyway (we check one each) and our carry on. If by some chance you don't wear something you just take it home and wash it with everything else anyway. Do what works for YOU.

It's just a preference. When we went to Jamaica for our honeymoon, we brought something for each day. I'm not sure why you would want to re-wear clothes just for the sake of "packing light". Others seem to enjoy that. The way I see it, summer clothes are light in general, so don't take up much room in your bag.

I do the same thing - I might re-wear one or two dresses but only once. I like to have a variety of clothes to pick from.

After three trips to Couples I've worked my way down to only one carry-on that fits in the overhead and one small carry-on that fits under the airplane seat. I only bring one pair of light weight dress pants for dinner along with my Columbia pants I wear with sneakers on the plane that the bottom halves zip off to make shorts once we arrive in Montego Bay. the Columbia pants can also be zipped back together and worn to dinner. Here's what else goes into my big carry-on.
1 Hawaiian shirt,
3 light weight golf shirts,
3 light weight shorts,
3 bathing suits,
4 or 5 tee shirts,
1 pair closed toe boat shoes,
underware & socks,
toilettries
In my small carry-on:
1 bathing suit,
1 tee shirt,
1 pair sandals,
sun screen,
sun glasses,
hat,
reading material for the plane and beach.
The small carry-on is very important because every time we've arrived at the resort our room wasn't ready and we were directed to a place to change into our swim suits to grab something to eat and then hit the beach. You don't want to have to open your large bag and assemble those items in the lobby.
Enjoy your time in Paradise!
Steve

My hubby-to-be will pack 2 - 3 pairs of slacks, 2 - 3 pairs of shorts, and a different collared shirt for each night. We will both take one more pair of underwear than days we'll be there and 3 -4 bathing suits. I take one dress per night plus the outfit I wear to Jamaica, and one traveling outfit I plan to wear home. I used to take shorts for each day then a dress for each night, but I find I only dress for dinner and don't need all the shorts.

What takes up the most room is shoes. And literally, I could take two pairs of shoes per day if I had free reign, one for each bathing suit and coverup combo and one for dinner. Instead, I've learned to buy some cute comfortable heeled sandals I can wear to bathe in and also out to dinner. So now, my fiancee will take one pair of deck/dress shoes and one pair of sandals and I'll bring two nice pairs of sandals plus slip-on comfy shoes to wear whilst traveling. Piece of cake.

During the day, you wear bathing suits and coverups/shorts. At night, women can wear shorts, slacks, or a skirt to all restaurants (other than Otaheite, where shorts are a no-no). Since I'm only wearing these items for a few hours, I have no problem "recycling." As for shoes, I bring 3 pairs: flip-flops (breakfast, lunch, and pool), boat shoes (casual dinner) and dressy sandals (Otaheite dinner). The "dressy" sandals are in a neutral color that work with everything.

My husband brings 1-2 pairs of long pants (wears one on the plane) and 2-3 pairs of shorts. He wears his bathing suit during the day. He brings 2-3 collared shirts (e.g., polos) and several T-shirts; again, since he's only wearing them at night, they can be worn more than once. For shoes, boat shoes (work for day and night) and "tennis" shoes.

Remember that, worst case, Couples does laundry. We can do 10 days in a carry-on. Seriously. However, if you want to wear different outfits every night, go for it!

My hubby-to-be will pack 2 - 3 pairs of slacks, 2 - 3 pairs of shorts, and a different collared shirt for each night. We will both take one more pair of underwear than days we'll be there and 3 -4 bathing suits. I take one dress per night plus the outfit I wear to Jamaica, and one traveling outfit I plan to wear home. I used to take shorts for each day then a dress for each night, but I find I only dress for dinner and don't need all the shorts.

What takes up the most room is shoes. And literally, I could take two pairs of shoes per day if I had free reign, one for each bathing suit and coverup combo and one for dinner. Instead, I've learned to buy some cute comfortable heeled sandals I can wear to bathe in and also out to dinner. So now, my fiancee will take one pair of deck/dress shoes and one pair of sandals and I'll bring two nice pairs of sandals plus slip-on comfy shoes to wear whilst traveling. Piece of cake.

Why does he take some many long pants? Just curious. We eat at 8 Rivers a couple of times, but my hubby only takes one pair of long pants.

I know that many prefer packing light and re-wearing etc. While I can see the appeal, we dont do that. For us, the dressing up for dinner is part of the romantic experience. Part of that for us has been wearing something different each evening. My significant other usually brings the following on the trip:

a few pairs of slacks including some linen pants (how many is determined by number of restaurants requiring)
a few long sleeved linen shirts where the sleeves roll up (he likes these a lot)
several short sleeve collared silk shirts
a couple nice tshirts (no logo, think silk blend tommy bahama no collar)
a few pairs of nice shorts that can go day or night with any of the shirts mentioned above
a couple shirts to wear to the beach - dry fit sports type
several bathing suits - probably 5 or so
flip flops for the beach
water shoes if needed
hat
underwear for each day
dinner shoes - leather flip flops, closed toe fishermans (black, brown or both on these shoes depending on which clothes he chose to bring)

Seems like a lot but he takes one normal sized bag and it isnt full...

Many feel that the laundry fees at the resort are expensive. BUT, when you compare it to the checked bag fees that US airlines charge now, they can be a bargain. I now plan to take less clothes knowing I will get some laundry done halfway through. My wife does the same, although she still does pack a half empty bag that will be checked. On the return flight we use the rest of the room in that bag for all the goodies we bring back with us.

If we did not need the space for our coffee/rum/souvenirs we could get along without a checked bag just fine.

We just came back from a week in Punta Cana, and we way overpacked, BUT one year at CSS we tried to cut down and we regretted it, we felt we did not have enough if you spill anything etc, which my husband does all the time. Not to mention women need options. Pack the way you are comfortable. Just like with food, more is always better than not enough. One thing you really don't need are shorts except for travelling home in or if you are planning excursions.